Things Once Forgotten
by WiNdGoDdEsS688
Summary: A new girl joins the Xiaolin warriors, but then she starts hearing voices and tries to attack Chase! Does Wuya know more than she shows? Is this new voice really a person from Chase's past....or is the girl just insane...she could really go either way..
1. Strange Occurences

Hello! After 2 episodes in a row for 3 weeks in a row, Xiaolin Showdown has finally got me motivated to write a story! Or maybe it was all the scenes of Chase (drools) hehe…or not…. NE Wayz, this is my story, I probably won't update soon cuz it's finals week at my school and yeah…this story will get funny soon, it was originally funny, but then I had to make a beginning and yeah…ever wrote a story and then lost the original point of it? Anyways, please review if you have time! Thankies!

I don't own Xiaolin Showdown or any other copyrighted thing in here, I haven't got the money to pay for the lawsuit against me especially since senior year is just starting in 3 months…(shudder) I swear, I feel like an 8th grader still, I look like one too…(cries)

* * *

"Dojo!" I cried out. "Wait for me!"

Dojo looked down at the short girl with long flowing black hair. She wore green cargos with a light blue shirt that fluttered in the breeze as she ran up to him.

I waved my hand around and quickly jumped onto Dojo's back. "Didn't Omi tell you I was coming?" I panted out as we rose into the air. Kimiko glared at Omi, who blushed out of embarrassment for not remembering.

"You forgot?" Raimundo and I yelled at the same time.

Omi quickly tried defending himself, but Clay whacked him on the head. Dojo then spoke up. "If I remember correctly, wasn't it Master Fung who told you to stay?" he inquired.

"Nooooo…" I whined. "So, where are we off to?"

Omi brightened. "Chase!"

I blinked. "What?"

"No, the person," Clay responded.

"That too!"

A loud thump was heard and Omi clutched his head again, while Kimiko rubbed her hand.

"Wait, why are you happy to see Chase?" I wondered out loud.

**_Little twit, doesn't know what he's talking about. _**

What? I thought to myself. "Who..." I began, but Omi continued talking.

Omi smiled. "To convince him to become good!"

Silence enveloped the five teenagers. Finally, Clay spoke. "Um…last time I checked, he wouldn't change even if we served my aunt's rhubarb pie to him."

"I guess you could try," I told Omi, whose face had fallen.

"Yeah right!" Dojo shouted. "The guy eats DRAGONS for breakfast!" And then he shuddered. (Raimundo nearly fell off, but Omi saved him.)

"But it would make life a LOT more easy if he wasn't trying to get Omi to join the dark side..." I said, and then trailed off realizing that no one knew Chase was even trying to tempt Omi.

"And who told you this?" Kimiko asked as she arched her neck toward me.

**_Damn kids, they'll get in the way._**

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!" yelled Raimundo.

"You heard it too!" I happily responded.

Even Dojo turned around to give me a weird look. "Um…" Clay began. "You said it, that's how we heard it."

Now I was really freaking out. Since when do I start hearing and then speaking what voices from nowhere say!

I quickly became interested in the rice fields below us and just mumbled a "never mind." We finally reached our destination and jumped onto the rocky ground. "Hey, I never thought about it," I spoke up.

"It?" asked Kimiko.

"Yeah, how do we get in?" I asked. "Do we just like, ring the doorbell or something…?"

Four annoyed faces greeted mine. "Uh, I'll just let you guys do your thing." I said quickly and chuckled. A big sweatdrop appeared on the back of my head. Raimundo turned to look at me. "Are you sure you're ok?" he asked with concern in his voice. I didn't have time to answer, because at that precise moment, 5 tigers leapt out and carried us into the palace.

"Oh," I said, as tiger drool went into the back of my shirt. "That's how you get in"

Chase was waiting inside with Wuya, (in human form, btw) and looked very smug as we were dropped onto the floor.

_**Damn smug little face of his, I'll…**_

"OK!" I cried out, a lot of fear in me now. "You all heard that, right? Even YOU had to hear that," my voice wavered and looked up at Chase. His face at the moment was one of disgust and boredom.

Omi laughed nervously. "Anywhooo…" He began a monologue on why he was here, yadda yadda yadda. I tried to pay attention, but a weird pinching feeling on my right arm stole away my attention. I looked down and gasped. My left hand was pinching my arm! I stared at my hand, and realized that I wasn't even in control of it. It was doing this on its own! Not now, I prayed. Just let it pass. Please…

Wuya looked at me. "Are you alright?"

"Uh yeah, I am," I replied. My left hand stopped, but now the right hand was twitching.

"Do you no longer know how to control your hands as well as your mouth?" Chase coldly asked.

He must pay! He must! That brat- 

But come on, I mentally whined. This is MY body.

_**And? You think it's easy to just stand here and do nothing to tell that little brat off! **_

"Nooo!"

"Child, what is wrong with you?" Wuya cried out. Raimundo and Kimiko quickly ran to take me back to where the others were. They each held one of my arms, but I somehow twisted their arms, then to the amazement of everyone including myself, I knocked their heads together and jumped over their fallen bodies.

WTF? Since when can I do that? Me, Melissa, who barely was able to scale the 8-foot training wall. But that was just the beginning. My chest began to hurt. It felt like someone took a white hot branding iron in the shape of a circle and put it right to my skin.

"Dojo," I tried to speak and mask the pain. This had happened once before, and I tried pushing the memory out of my mind, but now this was happening. "Dojo," I began again, " can we go home now?"

My voice didn't fool anyone.

_**Let me out! Let me out!**_

"Who are you?" I finally cried aloud.

"Great, now she's hearing voices again," Clay sighed.

Strangely enough, Wuya was the only one without a shocked expression. Well, Chase looked bored, but the others were horrified. She merely blinked and yawned.

"Just do what she asks, and be quick about it," she said calmly while looking at her nails.

"No way! Last time I listened to her, I blacked out and woke up 5 hours later with 10 knocked out guys around me!" I answered. While I was talking, my legs started walking towards Chase. I told my mind to stop them, but to no avail.

"Chase, leave this room now," Wuya ordered.

"Excuse me, but since when do _you_ order _me_ around?" he angrily replied. His bored expression had turned into one of extreme interest.

Great, now I caught his attention I lamented in my head. The impatient voice spoke again. **_Oh please, please let me out. I won't hurt him…too much._**

My legs stood still, but the pain in my chest actually became stronger. It was too much and I let out a scream. That's when the Xiaolin warriors started panicking. I put a hand to where it hurt, hoping its coolness would soothe the burn. I took a few deep breaths, closed my eyes, then opened them again and removed my hand.

Bad idea. Wuya immediately looked to my skin and her face turned into confusion, then horror. Extreme horror. Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth as if to scream, but no sound came out. For a few seconds all she did was look like a fish in air; her bugged eyes didn't blink and her mouth kept opening and closing. She closed her eyes, and then let out a screech that sent shivers down my spine. She pushed me towards the others.

"Take her away!" she yelled. "Go back to the temple and STAY THERE!" I was dragged by the collar of my shirt and then thrown to the floor. "And don't let her out until she's got it all sorted out." Wuya breathed heavily. "Don't let her out," she repeated, but this time almost to herself. She took a deep breath and then regained her composure.

"How dare you give orders! Don't forget who-" Chase was cut off by the wave of Wuya's hand. He had been patient all this time, but a schizo girl and a bitchy Wuya were a bit too much for him.

Clay and Raimundo held tight to me as we boarded Dojo. Suddenly my mouth opened, and a voice came out that wasn't my own. It sounded…deeper, more mature

**_Just you wait little boy! You may be all powerful now, but I know all your past. And I'll never forgive you, never!_**

A strong wave of nausea passed over me and darkness clouded my eyes. Everything started spinning and everyone's voices sounded like they came through a tunnel. I saw an extremely shocked Chase fall down and back away. He was shaking his head and was muttering something. Then everything disappeared into black.


	2. Ceres

Rejoice! I actually updated within a week!. I usually take months...hehe. Um, most of this is explaining the whole Ceres thing because I'm pretty sure none of you have read that manga before.

Disclaimer: me don't own Xiaolin Showdown, me don't own Ceres, me don't own that Trigun song at the end of this, me don't own NADA….well, except the plot!

* * *

I woke up to the sound of birds twittering and a throbbing pain in my head. Hushed voices silenced themselves as soon as I tried to get up. I didn't even try to open my eyes, because my head throbbed even more when I tried. Even with my eyes closed, the sunlight was already doing its job of blinding everything in its path just fine. 

"Whuuuuut" I tried to speak, but it felt like cotton was in my mouth. "Water…please…" I finally managed to choke out. I heard someone quickly run to the kitchen and I tried to finally open my eyes. "My heaaad…" I moaned and clutched it. Rubbing my eyes made everyone around me blurry for a moment. Then I saw relatively clearly. Four very confused faces greeted me. Omi came back into the room and handed me a small jug. "Thanks," I managed to say and then quickly chugged down all of the water inside.

Clay spoke first. "We took you straight home to the temple after you passed out."

Passed out? Voices…Chase…oh crap…my mind finally caught up with the present and everything came crashing down. I had a woman inside me with a bone to pick with Chase. What a lovely insight to ruin a perfectly good morning.

After eating breakfast my head finally stopped hurting. Master Fung walked in and we all put down our chopsticks to listen attentively.

"Dojo has informed me of your predicament," he said to me. I laughed nervously. "And we believe we know what is ailing you." He paused and then looked at each person in the room meaningfully, as if trying to figure out if we could handle this information.

"You have some form of a Ceres within you."

"I KNEW IT!" I yelled and banged my hand on the table, which sent my bowl of rice flying through the air toward Master Fung.

"Cra-" I started to say, "uh I mean, crud." Master Fung caught the bowl and held it. The others stared at me.

"You mean you knew why you were acting that way?" Omi asked with a humongous question mark over him.

"Well, not really," I began. "It's all part of a very sad tale." I took the pose of one who was about to tell a life story. "It involves a celestial maiden, a troubling man-"

"Uh, hate to interrupt," Dojo hesitantly said, " but is this gonna be long? I kinda need to go to the bathroom."

I sighed and then gave the short version. "A celestial maiden came down from Heaven hundreds of years ago, was forced to marry an earth man because he took her celestial robes and she needed those robes in order to go back to heaven, then after many years she finally lost it and killed him and later died."

More shocked faces greeted me. I was starting to get used to this. "Well," Kimiko began. "I guess that means…?"

"I'm a descendant of her."

"And you know this how?" Raimundo innocently asked.

"Well, some of my other friends have her powers within them. Technically, only a few of them have her attributes. Um…how to explain," I stopped and thought hard. "One girl has the power to summon ghostly demon dogs that can rip you to shreds, one can conjure up fire and self-combust anything or anyone as we later found out. One can fly, and many others have different random powers, just like the shen gong wu."

"But…" Raimundo said slowly, putting the pieces of what I just said together.

"But," I continued. "There are some who have more than merely powers. Some can change into a completely different person. A close friend is like that. Until she turns into her, for lack of a better word, 'Ceres form' she can't use her powers."

Master Fung looked intrigued. "I never knew it was true, or that even this many girls were involved. Here at the temple, Ceres was mentioned only once in the ancient scrolls and even then, it was thought to be only a legend. I believe you, and this brings up many new, unheard of ideas. This means that this original Ceres has hundreds of thousands of descendants. And there are different levels. One girl might have a closer tie to her than another, which explains why some can change and why others cannot. I assume those who can change are more 'valued' than others?"

"Valued highly?" Kimiko snorted. "You make them sound as if they're antiquities or some sort of…object to be owned."

"I hate to say it, but there are people out there who have found out about us. And they want to use us in an experiment. They 'value' those who can change because, generally, they have stronger powers." I shuddered as I thought of all the stories my friends had told me of trying to escape these people.

"But wait, you don't have any powers" Omi pointed out and made a face. "You failed most horribly on the obstacle course and could barely control the shen gong wu that we gave you. So how do you know if you're a descendant of Ceres and not just going insane?"

I gave Omi a dirty look and quickly wondered if I should hit him. However, seeing as how I had just heard voices, I didn't think I should freak them out even more. Last thing I needed was them thinking I was not only a basket case, but also a violent basket case. I merely nodded. "It's true. All of my other friends found out they were related to Ceres because of their powers came out. But!" I happily said, and then rushed on, "Even though none of them heard voices, the thing inside of me had a talk with another girl and even though I didn't hear the conversation, cuz I was conked out, which happens every time she tries to come out, but anyway, yeah, when I woke up my friend Rachel told me that she had nice long talk with the woman inside of me."

Now skeptical faces greeted me. "Well seeing as how I can't even talk to her without falling unconscious minutes later, you think I've had the time to get buddy-buddy with her! Plus…"

"Plus?" Clay continued.

"I've been told that every generation or so, a girl who's a direct descendant from Ceres will become Ceres."

"WHAT!" they all yelled.

"This said girl will not merely have her looks changed, but actually harbor another life within her…and I've been told that's lucky me."

"How do you know?" Dojo asked, coiling and uncoiling his tail in deep curiosity.

"Well, none of the others had blackouts and heard voices. And lately I have been getting a bigger appetite…then again maybe that's just my weirdness" I absentmindedly said.

"Surely there must be an easier way to figure out if you have a Ceres within you" Omi wondered aloud.

"Yep," I replied. "There is a family in Japan that is the most closely related to Ceres. They have their….er…rituals to find out if a girl of their family has Ceres within her. Since it's most likely going to happen with a close descendant, they've kept the bloodline limited so that no one marries out, and everyone, even husband and wife, are almost like third cousins. "

"Ewwww…" Clay, Raimundo, Kimiko, and Omi exclaimed.

I continued. "On her 16th birthday, the girl will be shown the hand of the original Ceres. (Don't even _ask_ me why they kept the hand.) If the girl has a dormant Ceres, her true powers will be shown in the form of a nice little explosion and such. This girl is now the most powerful being in the world."

"Oooh! A most amazing birthday gift!" Omi happily exclaimed. He jumped around a bit. " I imagine this girl most have the most rarest powers! Ah, so lucky…"

"I'm not finished," I quietly said.

"The girl who is found to have Ceres within her is always killed immediately afterwards."

Silence permeated the room. Kimiko gasped and a tear slid down her face. "But…why?" she whispered.

I took my time replying, trying to figure out how to explain it. "Because if she, Ceres, were to assume true form, she'd take the revenge that she promised ages ago. She was forced to marry a scumbag, forced to have his children, and she wasn't able to do jack about it. To set her free on the family would spell destruction for the entire clan, at least all the guys for sure. And since it is male-dominated, no one wants to lose their power or their life."

All of them went into deep thought over what I had just said. Suddenly a voice interrupted our reverie. The voice sang a whimsical song.

_ Total slaughter, total slaughter._

_ I won't leave a single man alive._

We walked out into the hallway, which was poorly lit. A lone figure stood at the end of it.

_ La dee da dee die, genocide._

_ La dee da dee dud, an ocean of blood._

_ Now let's start the killing time._

The figure had been slowly walking towards us, but now stopped. Then it suddenly squealed: "Raimuuuuuuuuuuundooooooooooooo!" and consequently jumped on him.

* * *

Meanwhile, a disgruntled Chase was trying to get information out of Wuya…and failing. 

"How do you know what's going on?" he demanded. Wuya merely picked at her dress. " I just happen to know a few people like her. Been a while though, didn't think she'd show up. Besides, why are you asking _me_ questions? She's from _your_ past."

For once in his long existence, Chase stumbled on his words. "I-I…th-that has nothing…quit changing the subject!" Wuya rolled her eyes. "If you really want to know what's going on, just try and remember your past."

"My past?"

"Well, specifically, your past before you gave up your soul."

"HAHAHAHA!"

"I didn't find anything funny."

Something in Wuya's tone made Chase open his eyes and seriously contemplate this suggestion.

"The woman inside Melissa-"

"Who?"

Wuya paused so she wouldn't pound Chase on the head. The man could easily rip her to shreds, so she'd better not let her anger get the best of her. She exasperatingly continued, "the girl who tried to attack you. She has someone from your past in her. Try to remember who."

Chase didn't like the sound of it. Evil people who gave up their souls for power didn't "look deep inside" themselves for answers. They tortured people, turned homes upside down, maybe even take a potion to restore memory, but _never_ this "look inside your heart" crap. He sighed and hoped that another option would make itself available soon. However, Chase didn't know that this new option was going to actually present itself quite soon. He shouldn't have hoped.

* * *

Hehe, yeah, that's all I got so far. Much thankies to Grace who gives me the motivation for writing this all down. Please review if you have time, it's nice to know someone in cyberspace is actually reading this. For all of you almost out for summer, yaaay! And for all of you still stuck in school, just think, 1 or 2 more weeks left! 


	3. It Begins

YAY! I finished my first week of summer school! I take PE. 1 down 4 more to go! But my thighs hurt baaad…arrrggh…the Xiaolin monks would laugh at me if they saw that I was in pain after a mere mile and a half of jogging followed by advanced Tae-Bo…stupid Billy Blanks…so yeah, you know the routine, I don't own nada. Thank you to Cleoraia and TamerTerra for reviewing! THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU! Hehe, I never thought of my story as kick ass… and some other thankies to my friends Grace and Tania. Tania I'll miss you! I hate Arizona now, cuz they have you and California doesn't have you anymore! Come back soon! MOOOOO! Hehe, btw ":"means an action cuz my asterisks don't work.

:Melissa and Tania come out of school where they took the SAT: so many….:strange perky voice: bubbles!

Also btw, I've switched the point of view. And _vaca_ means cow in Spanish, but the "b" and "v" are usually switched when speaking. And _kawaii_ means "cute" in Japanese. Okay enough! Onto the story!

* * *

"Graaaaaaaaaaaaace!" Melissa screeched and ran toward the figure. The said figure immediately jumped off Raimundo, ran, and collided with Melissa. They hugged each other extremely hard. 

"Do I hear bones cracking?" Dojo inquisitively wondered. After a few moments the two girls realized they were being stared at and then Melissa quickly got up and formally introduced her friend.

"Grace, the Xiaolin monks, Xiaolin monks, my very good friend Grace."

Raimundo was still tending to his wounds.

"Oh, sorry about that" Grace sheepishly apologized. "It's just so cool to finally meet you all in person!"

Melissa explained more as they went back to the breakfast room. Grace knew Melissa from school and was promptly informed of Melissa's situation after eating some breakfast rice as well.

"…and then I said 'I'll never forgive you!' and then I blacked out." Melissa ended her story pretending to actually black out and fell on the floor, but quickly got up. "The end."

Grace didn't look surprised. "I told ya, you should've stayed at home but nooooo, you had to go take this job at the Xiaolin temple."

"I couldn't help it. It was in Asia for crying out loud, Asia! And hey, what are YOU doing here, you're supposed to be at home too."

"………I got lost trying to get to Japan."

"BAKA!"

"I'M NOT A COW!"

Omi and the others watched in amazement as Melissa whacked Grace quickly on the head.

"That's quite a swing there," Clay absentmindedly murmured to no one.

Grace closed her eyes, but not from pain, from planning.

"Is she okay?" Kimiko wondered aloud.

"I HAVE AN IDEA!" Grace proudly announced after a few minutes pause. She scared everyone into falling.

"This can't be good," Melissa muttered.

"As long as it doesn't involve getting hurt more, I'm cool with it," Raimundo quickly added.

"We go to this evil cave place thingy where this evil cave dwelling dude is, than make your Ceres come out and have them talk their way into making up."

"That'd work Grace!" Melissa happily said with a fake chirpy face. "As soon as PIGS FLY!"

"Why must a hog fly in order for this plan to work?" Omi asked Master Fung. Master Fung merely shook his head and let Grace and Melissa continue talking.

"Well," Kimiko said. "It wouldn't hurt to try and see if talking works out. Last thing we need is another battle on our hands."

"How do we know she'll come out?" Clay asked Grace.

"Easy. She only came out practically full force when she saw Chase, so we'll just do that again."

"Waaah!" Melissa cried out. "How do we know she just won't try and kill him? I don't want to kill people!"

"Uh…go call the mortuary in case?" was Grace's response.

"Ugh…I don't suppose we have any other choice." Melissa just accepted her situation. Grace had proven to be helpful in many ways before, maybe her crazy plan would prevail again.

The monks didn't think there was another, rather non-violent way around it, so once again they were flying on Dojo toward Chase's palace. Grace was ecstatic and kept pointing at all the different things they passed by and nearly fell off twice. Instead of being angry, Dojo was rather amused at this new girl. She brought a mischievous twinkle in Melissa's eyes.

They arrived at the entrance and Grace pondered how they would get in. "Doorbell?"

"Great minds think alike!" Melissa happily said.

"More like weird minds think alike," Clay whispered to Omi, who immediately started laughing.

Grace saw Omi laughing, and then faster than anyone could blink, she was hugging him. "Kawaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" she squealed as she hugged him hard, and then put him down.

Omi gasped. "A girl hug! May I have another?" Grace was more than happy to oblige and picked him up again and squeezed him tight.

"Ok, ok, let's just go in!" Kimiko replied and pried Omi away from Grace's clutch. She gave one last mean look at Grace and then turned away.

Grace blinked and then smiled mischievously. She whispered something into Melissa's ear and then they both stared at Kimiko and Omi and began chuckling quietly. However, suddenly Melissa paled.

"Hon, are you okay?" Grace quickly asked. It looked as if Melissa was about to faint. Her lips began moving, but no sound came out.

"I think she's talking to her," Raimundo said in awe.

"Her?" Omi asked.

"The only 'her' Melissa could talk to," Raimundo replied with annoyance. "Ceres" the five teenagers whispered.

Melissa closed her eyes and then she smiled. "We've come to an agreement."

"Agreement?" Dojo asked. "That's never a good word. Last time I was part of an 'agreement' I turned out to be a main ingredient in soup."

"No, this one's good. Ceres says she will promise _not_ to kill Chase, _if_ he rectifies the situation."

"But what _is_ the situation?"

"You can ask her." a voice from within the cave replied. The wooden doors that shut out unwanted visitors slowly creaked open and Wuya stood behind them. "Ask Ceres," she continued " she won't mind telling her story to all of you. That is, if I can remember her personality correctly."

"WHAAAAAAAAT?" Melissa screeched. "YOU KNEW CERES?"

Wuya smiled and closed her eyes. "From other lifetimes, but yes, in a manner of speaking I did know her." She motioned for them to follow her into the palace.

"Duuuude," Melissa whined and massaged her head. "Everyone, like, knows everyone else! It's friggin crazy! Why don't they all just write down on a piece of paper who knows who!"

Omi pondered on this new information. "Wuya is very old…reaaaally old…"

Wuya whipped her head around towards Omi. "What was that you said, you little twerp!"

Omi pretended to be very interested in some rocks on the ground that they were passing by.

"Even Dashi said time hasn't been good to you," Raimundo laughed. Kimiko, Clay, and Dojo began laughing as well.

Grace was busy staring at Wuya's dress and not listening to the conversation. "Halloween costume" was the only phrase discernable from her mumbling.

Melissa suddenly spoke up. "Chase hasn't told you anything?"

Wuya rolled her eyes. "I tried telling that man to remember, and the poor oaf didn't even know where to start."

"You even tried?" Melissa said in wonder. "Wow…"

The group reached a small pond by a waterfall and sat down in a circle around Melissa. "Well, shall we begin?" Wuya asked all of them. The five teenagers, dragon, and Heilin witch stared at Melissa. She took a deep breath and then exhaled.

"It all started with a fire." As she spoke, it was as if they could all see what was happening. Perhaps it was magic, or perhaps the Ceres' words could make your imagination soar. Or perhaps it was just the fact that everyone closed their eyes and the waterfall was making them fall asleep. Either way, no one noticed Chase pacing back and forth a little ways away. He looked down below at the group and scoffed.

"Total lunacy," he couldn't help but mutter. He stopped and closed his eyes. Remember. Remember what? Suddenly a woman's voice drifted over to him. He quickly opened his eyes and saw that even though Melissa's lips were moving, the voice was not hers, it was…

_The fire wasn't his fault. He tried telling everyone. No one believed him. Only his mother stayed by his side…and her…_

* * *

_A young girl with long flowing black hair rested by a creek. As she admired the flowers, a bittersweet song flowed from her lips. Her voice was low and enchanting. Suddenly the bushes nearby moved. "Sister!" a voice cried, " Come look at what I made!" A beaming little boy burst from the brush and happily ran into her outstretched arms._

* * *

Well, that's all for now. Till later! 


	4. The Forgotten Past

Wow…I'm soooo out of it. Um, it's a rather short chapter this time, hehe, I just wanted to post it because I haven't posted in LONG time and with applications I know I won't have time till January to do this. So…sorry if it's not as funny as the last chapters, but it does get a little dark…BUT! I MUST tell you of this funny incident that happened at the Cal State LA field trip. We went into the food court and saw a sign that said: Master Fung's Fresh BBQ! LMFAO! I took a pic of it and if I ever get a deviant art I'll make sure to post it.

Disclaimer: the usual, don't own Xiaolin Showdown, too poor to buy the rights to it:pokes money purse: I'm gonna be in the hole by the time application fee's of $50 bucks each are done…

* * *

_Why did he always call me sister? We weren't blood related. But I suppose I was the closest thing he could call family, after his mother…I must confess, I miss those early days of ignorance and innocence. Neither of knew what was going to happen…_

"Chase, why do you love making me these figurines?" the girl inquisitively asked. She knew he would merely smile and say, "because I like to," but there was always a mischievous twinkle in his eyes as he would say it.

"Because I like to!" he said and then, with an odd strength, he quickly pulled her up from the ground. "Hurry! We'll miss the concert!"

Chase happily ran in front of Ying Min. He was especially excited today because his mother had given him money to spend at the harvest festival. He was in such a good mood, that he didn't notice Ying Min trailing behind him. She seemed to be in her own world, sometimes looking at the laughing boy in front of her, sometimes seeming to daze off, as if in some deep thought or meditation. Finally, Chase looked behind him and noticed she wasn't right behind him. "Ying!" he cried out. Maybe it was a trick of the light, but from far away, her face looked sorrowful. He quickly ran up to her. "What's wrong Ying?" he asked. He knew she wouldn't mind such a bold question. Everyone else always looked at him oddly when he asked such bold questions, and his mother would often scold him and make him apologize to the person. Instead, Ying gave a weak smile before saying "Nothing is wrong my dear, nothing at all."

Any other time, Chase would have kept questioning. He had a keen sense at a young age of when he was being lied to. A bit too good for someone his age many of the elders of the village thought. But he was in too good of spirits because of the festival.

As the two neared closer to the town square, music floated to them over the gurgling of the stream. The festival that Chase so adored was here. Vendors happily displayed their food ranging from simple snow peas to exotic fruits and vegetables. Some farmers showed off their new drinks made from their fresh fruits, or maybe a new perfume. On another side, vendors sold medicines. The air was ripe with sweet smelling scents and the chatter of people. Not only were the villagers here, but foreigners as well. Chase's hometown was right by the ocean, and it was one of the most powerful seaports in Eastern China. The Japanese, usually unwelcome anywhere else in China at the moment, were more than glad to trade at this time of year.

Ying tried to keep up her happy appearance for Chase's sake. She couldn't bear having to spoil his happy mood. He waited all year, and began anticipating the festival 3 months before it arrived. She tried not to think about her sixteenth birthday coming up. Her grandmother was merely trying to scare her with those stories she told before going to bed. A firecracker startled her and broke her from her reverie. She jumped and then slipped on a stone. She fell and to her embarrassment, a man came to help her up.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," a man she recognized from the butchers apologized. He mistook the confusion in her face to be from the firecracker and helped her off the ground. "I was trying to see which one was a dud. Heh, I guess I found out."

Ying thanked the man and then looked around for Chase. She didn't have to look far; he was standing a few feet away. The man followed her gaze and then flinched. His eyes turned cold and then he muttered a "good day" before tending to his shop again.

Turning back from the man, Ying tried to start up a conversation to distract Chase. "What are you going to buy with your money?" she asked. But it was too late. Chase wasn't responding. "Ying…why…why do they always…"

Ying sighed. Every time she tried to explain, it felt like someone was tearing her heartstrings. "They still aren't used to you, that's all," she lied. They'll never be used to him, she thought inside. His mother's past was gossip for all the villagers to enjoy for the past 13 years. When Ying first agreed to take care of Chase, she made a vow to also take care of his mother. The poor woman had been through enough hardship.

"It's because of my dad, isn't it?" he asked.

Ying was startled. Who told him about his father? She inadvertently looked for the old women who usually took delight in glaring at Chase and making snide remarks.

"My dad…he wasn't….a good man, was he, Ying?" Chase continued.

She shuddered. Who was telling him these things? The women knew certain things, but this was new. She looked around and hugged her arms. Was it her imagination, or did the air become chillier. Strong gusts of wind came through and whipped the tops of the tents. Pots and pans clanged and the villagers were caught off guard as non-stationary items were toppled. Even the music stopped as the musicians had to hold on to the sheet music. A loud cry of surprise rose up from everyone, and then as suddenly as the wind came, it stopped. The musicians quickly started up again, but Ying didn't feel the happy melody anymore. The stories from her grandmother, the villagers' stares, Ying could feel her world crumble around her.

The pair kept on walking down until they stopped at a stall with a young woman selling flowers. "Chase!" the woman cried. "What have you bought with the money I gave you?"

Immediately his sorrowful face lifted. He ran up and gave his mother a hug. "Nothing yet, Ying and I barely got here."

Ying shook her head, hoping to remove all bad thoughts from her mind. I am here to enjoy the festival and I'm going to enjoy it, dammit, she thought. No more villager stares to bug me, no more strange women stories from my grandmother to bug me.

The rest of the night was actually quite fun. Chase won a few games and his classmates from school cheered him on for all of them. Only the elders in the town hated him. Ying breathed a sigh of relief when Chase ignored the stare of a man and instead started telling a joke she told him yesterday to his friends. After the last of the music concerts, everyone began packing up until the next day, when the festival would continue it's third day. "Jing-Mei," Ying called to Chase's mother. "I'll see you tomorrow!" She shook Jing-Mei's hand and then gave Chase a hug. "Sissy, you're going to love your birthday present!" Chase told her as she let go of him. His mother laughed. "Chase has been working on _something_ for the past two weeks. Every time I come in he hides it, but I'm sure it's something wonderful."

They all said their goodbyes and then Ying began the journey home. After ten minutes of walking she came to her home. The warm cozy inside was such a relief after the harsh cold outside. Her grandmother was sleeping and her parents were just getting into bed.

"Had fun dear?" her mother asked. "Yes," she half-truthfully answered. "Don't forget," her mother said, "you still need to tell us what you want for your birthday."

Ying inadvertently looked at her grandmother, but she was still silently sleeping. "I won't forget, Ma", she answered.

"You should ask for hope and salvation," a voice spoke behind her. Ying nearly screamed out loud. When she wasn't looking, her grandmother had gotten up and stood behind her. "You should enjoy it now, while you still have it."

Ying felt so confused and scared. "Enjoy what, grandmother, what! Tell me!"

Her grandmother merely shook her head and laid back down in her bed. "Enjoy life," she murmured before drifting off again.

* * *

Outside, two figures looked down on the seaside town from a hill nearby.

"Is it time now, Master?" one asked the other.

"Not yet…but it is soon," the other answered. "Very soon."

* * *

I have this bittersweet song "Yi Dance" by Xuefei Yang stuck in my head now…kudos' and a Chase plushie to anyone who knows who she is. Moo! 


End file.
